Breaking Walls: Raheel Siddiqui's Journey to Unstoppable

0:00Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And if you are looking for a breakthrough, if you are looking for the journey story, this episode is for you. The guy I'm bringing on has an incredible journey, has an incredible story. And I know you're going to pick up so many nuggets from this one. He's a good friend that I met at a conference out in Las Vegas, who then has literally become one of the closest people in my circle. And we're going to talk about why and how that happened. Ladies and gentlemen, I present my guy, Mr. Raheel Siddiqui. You're listening to Mick Unplugged, hosted by the one and only Mick Hunt.

0:41This is where purpose meets power and stories spark transformation. Mick takes you beyond the motivation and into meaning, helping you discover your because and becoming unstoppable. I'm Rudy Rush, and trust me, you're in the right place. Let's get unplugged.

1:01Hey, sir. Good. Good. Thanks for having me. How you been? I've been great, man. I'm so glad we could do this one in person. When we talked about doing it, we could do it virtually. But the energy that you have, the way that you move, man, like I knew we had to do this one together. So I'm honored to do this one with you here. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me, man. You know how much I look up to you and I've known you for however long amount of time, but the short amount of time. But I feel like, man, like somebody like you really inspired me to be the best version of myself. And it means a lot.

1:30And trust me when I say this, man, like you are everything that every leader and any person should embody, man. So thank you. I'm very humbled, very grateful, very honored for you to come take time out of your busy schedule to meet with a guy like me. It means the world to me. So thank you, Mick Hunt. No, man, all the words you just said, I can flip back. I'm the honored one to be here, man. And I want to talk through so many things. And it's like, how do we get it out? I just want to start with what a lot of people maybe watching this don't know. You didn't always look like this, man. I hope that's a good thing.

2:05No, that's a great thing for everybody watching. They're like, what is he talking about? Yeah. Dude, you've lost over 200 pounds. Wow, 200. And it's one of those things where it's because you wanted to, you needed to, you had to, right? Yes, sir. But you did it. And I tell people this is putting that action. It's one foot in front of the other. It's knowing where you ultimately want to get to in business and in life. And you you are the embodiment of that. Walk us through that journey, man. Like for those that don't know right heel that don't know the beast that you are. Walk us through just saying enough is enough.

2:45I'm going to do something about it. Yeah, for sure. No, man, thank you so much. It's been a ride. I mean, I can't believe it's been this many years, you know, it still feels like yesterday. Right. And I think it just stems from, I guess, from childhood. Right. From like when I was born, I was pretty much born overweight. And then and the weight just kept adding on. And, you know, elementary school, middle school, high school, college, post college. And then before you know it, I think like most people in life, life truly kind of gets in the way. And then you don't really realize what's going on until it really hits you in the face.

3:19So fast forward to January 2010, I was 27 years old. I was 405 pounds and just a lot of bad habits. Right. And I think it's very easy for anyone to say, well, diet, lack of exercise, which is true. But it's also the fact of I truly feel like your life, your lifestyle, the choices that you make, who you hang out with. And I was F-grade all across the board. And what I mean by that is just not having that accountability. So 27 years old, January 2010, I was 405 pounds. My father was a health care professional. He was a pharmacist. And one day he just looked at me blue in the face and was like, man, like, I got to take you to the doctor.

3:59Like, I'm getting really worried. I was his youngest son. So he said, I need to get you checked out. And mind you, he had a very soft-spoken voice. He was always in my ear and he would always come talk to me and, you know, throw like whispers in me like, hey, man, like, let's get going. Let's take care of your health. And like a typical, I'm a dad now, right? So typical father, son in one ear and out the other. Like, oh, you know, dad, I'm okay. I'm okay. But I wasn't okay. So lo and behold, went to get my blood work done, went to go see the doctor for my results. And people that know me out there, I'm notoriously known for this part of the story.

4:34So the doctor walked in, had a folder in his hand, looked at my dad and I, looked down at the folder, flipped through the pages of the folder, closed the folder, just threw it on the counter next to him, looked at my dad and I and said, it doesn't matter what these results say. Your son's going to be dead by the time he's 40 anyways. We're just wasting our time being here. Wow. And that was it. And the first thing I thought was, all right, well, I'm going on Yelp. Definitely not giving you a five-star review for bedside manner. Yeah, very cold, man, very cold. And that was it. And the crazy part about that story is I never knew my scores.

5:11I never knew my hemoglobin, my sugar, my cholesterol, my BP, nothing. He just was like, dude, we're just wasting our time here. And I think he felt the energy, how you said, I am notoriously known for my energy, man, because I bring it. I bring it every single day. but at that time I wasn't the Raheel that I am now and at that time he could just see the weight go figure no pun intended but all my shoulders on my chest like this guy's not gonna what is he gonna do I can tell him all of his scores he's not going anywhere he's not doing anything and so my dad and the doctor went off to talk for one or two minutes and that was it we left it was like probably a few minutes of a visit and I think where you talked about where the where my life the story really turned was I'm driving home.

5:53We were about halfway home. My father looked at me and said, Hey, I need you to pull the car over. I said, why dad, is everything okay? He said, yes, just pull the car over, pull the car over. I need to talk to you. I said, okay, sure. So I pulled the car over and he looked right at me dead in the face. And he was like, listen, you know, I'm running out of time. And my father was battling a lot of health issues at that time, especially a liver issue that was really getting to him. And he said, look, I'm running out of time and I'm not going to be here to see you get married. I'm not going to be here to see you have kids, but you still have time.

6:24You have to take this seriously. This isn't a game. And we are not going home until you promise me that you are going to take this seriously. And I just joked about in one year and out the other, but that was the first time that I saw my father like having tears, like waters in his eyes, like, dad, like, please don't. And he was like, no, we are not going home. You have to promise me, promise me you're going to try to take care of this thing once and for all. So in that moment, I said, okay, I promise. I mean, there's nothing more heartbreaking than to see your parents crying over you, you know, feeling that pain over you.

6:55So I said, okay, sure. I promise. So we drove off. We drove home and the journey begun. And that's when I really started to take a look at myself like, wow, the doctor just told me I'm not going to make it a 40. I have my father pull me over on the side of the road and tell me that he's not going to be there to see me get married and not going to be there to see me have kids. What am I doing with my life? Where did I go wrong? And where do we go from here? So I'm going to unpack a lot of things in that moment. I love the fact that it wasn't self-pity. The last words you just said, where do we go from here?

7:40Was you trying to solve it and saying, I'm going to build a plan. But I want to go back to the moment that the doctor slams your reports down and says, I don't care. He's not going to make it to 40. What did you feel in that moment? In that moment, I honestly, I hated his guts. I was like, wow, that was really mean. That was really rude. But here's a fun fact. So you hit it on the head in that moment. That's exactly how I felt but if you ask me right now the best thing he could have ever done for me right the best it was like i know you enough to know it was a challenge oh that you're saying that exactly watch this here's 40 here's 50 here's 60 and all of these birth dates i'm gonna come see exactly exactly oh yeah yeah yeah and i still see him every now and then too yeah i just saw him one or two years ago and i remember when i saw him actually about a year ago he went up to me and whispered in my ear he said your dad would be proud all right we're gonna come back to that too so let's go to all right you got to figure it out now so dad pulls you over in the car has this moment with you gives you not tough love but is like almost like a final plea right like hey like i i need you to outlive me is what dad is saying you have to figure out how to do that what are the first things that you're doing because i think for everybody that's listening or watching right now that's struggling with something?

9:08I don't care what the struggle is. It could be weight loss. It could be addiction. It could be just self-motivation. What are the things that you put in place immediately for yourself? Yeah, sure. So I think the first thing was truly being accountable and accepting that you have a problem. Admitting. I had to admit that I had a problem, Mick, and I think that was the biggest problem. I never wanted to admit it. I never wanted to look in the mirror and say that I have a problem. And like you just hit it on the head. It was deeper than the weight loss. I was just a very broken individual. I was bullied a lot.

9:47I was bullied a lot. I mean, like I was bullied so bad that I would walk into a room and I would walk into a buffet line and a friend, quote unquote, would walk in right next to me and be like, hey man, like save this for the rest of us. Like, because there's not enough for you. Clearly, you don't need to eat and in front of everybody. Or, hey, I would go to gym class. Well, we're going to do shirts and skins. Hey, Raheel, sorry, man, you're going to have to be the one to go skins and stuff like that. And so I think, and I just felt like I would pretend like I was like this tough kid and I would use like my chest and use different mechanisms in my brain to kind of deflect, but I was really getting beat up.

10:28They say sticks and stones, but names do hurt, man. Yes, sir. They hurt. They hurt a lot. And for those of you out there, I think it just comes down to you hit it on the head. It's the first problem or the first step is truly admitting that you have a problem. That was the first time in my life I had really admitted that I had a problem. And then you started going from there. So then the journey began. So I was like, okay, well, where do we go? So I started to train on my own. I would go to the local field by my house, try to do laps there. I quit. I joined another local gym. I tried it. I was like, okay, this is cool.

11:05Started going maybe three days a week. Then that dwindled down to two days a week. Then one day a week. And then the phone calls started coming up from the trainer. Like, hey, man, where did you go? I'm not coming back. I just was like, man, you know what? But I always had that little voice in my head to never quit, never give up because I made a promise to my dad. And I think that always stuck with me. So fast forward to May 2010, a really close friend of mine hit me up and said, hey, man, a few close friends of ours are joining a local gym. Why don't you join, man? It'll be a great time. And we can play ball together.

11:39We can hang out together. And it'll be fun. And the one thing that I can hang my hat on, even at my heaviest, I was pretty athletic for a big guy. My friends could vouch for me. We played a lot of pickup basketball, a lot of football, like flag. So he was like, man, we could do this here at the gym. Just join. So why don't you give it a shot? And at this point, Mick, it's like I had nothing to lose. I'm trying on my own. I'm failing on my own. I'm trying on my own. I'm failing on my own. What else do I have to lose? So I go to the gym and I remember walking in the first day, I see a big sign on the wall.

12:11What does it say? Team weight loss class. Why don't you join? And it says like 12 week program for those that are in need who need a jumpstart for their journey. And that's exactly what I needed at that time. So I joined the class and I think you're going to love this part of the story. So day one of the class I joined, I get to class. Is everybody there? It's probably 20 people. And first day of class, the trainer's like, okay, everybody, welcome to the class. The very first thing we're going to do is everybody has to go up on the big scale and you have to say your name and announce your weight to the entire class.

12:47And I'm like, oh my God. So I went right to the trainer. I said, hey, listen, man, please don't make me do this. Like, look, this is already so hard for me to join a gym and join a class. And now you want me to tell everybody my weight. And you know what she told me? She was like, Raheel, I know what you're going through right now. And I know what you're feeling. But she was like, as much as you are frustrated or whatever you're feeling right now, she was like, I promise you, you are going to love telling this part of your story when you get to the other side of this journey. And exactly right.

13:19And in that moment, I was like, okay, I don't know if I believe you, but I do believe her now, you know, if she ever gets to see this. So I went up there and I told everybody, my name is Raheel Siddiqui and I weigh 405 pounds. And it just got dead silent. Like, wow, like this guy really is telling everybody and he's 405 pounds. And I drove home that day in the car crying. I got to bed crying and the mentality came back into me, man. I want to quit. I want to quit. But I woke up and what happened? My heart literally told my mind, well, you made a promise to your dad. Get up, get up and go back.

14:00You made a promise. So I said, okay, I made a promise. Let's go. So the journey began. So I went and week one, at the end of every week, you do a weekly weigh-in. So class was only three days a week and I just did the class. I didn't do anything else. So I went Monday, Wednesday, Friday, weekly weigh-in. I lost about like three pounds. I said, okay, man, that's okay. That's a pretty great result for a guy who hasn't done anything like this ever to commit to something. But I was like, you know what, what if I really commit? And this is where the switch really started to shift was what if I just came every single day, including the class, but even like the Tuesday, Thursdays, Saturday, and just put in whatever I can, just move the body.

14:41So I did that week, two weekly weigh-in, had a trainer. He looked at me, I looked at him, different trainer, and I was like, okay, man, is it good or bad? You're kind of scaring me. You're kind of scaring me. And he was like, dude, you lost 17 pounds this week. And I was like, whoa. And you know what, man? In that moment, that's when I really told myself, you know, for the first time in my life, I was a broken individual. I was bullied. I was humiliated. I was embarrassed. I was lazy. I was never accountable. I made excuses. I was the guy that ran away from every wall. I never ran through that wall, but that was the first time in my life, man, where I actually committed to something.

15:20I didn't quit. I actually stuck with it, and I hit a goal, and then that's when the lion came out of the cage. Yes, sir. It came out of the cage, and then from May 2010 to May 2011, I lost my first 150 pounds. So I appreciate it. I appreciate it. So I think it just comes down to the fact of when you are at rock bottom, you have so many options you can go from, but it just comes down to you and you alone. And I think the beauty of the journey is it's when you are at rock bottom, can you summon the will to prepare yourself to be ready for the next wall that comes up? Because no matter how successful you can be or how you are in the moment, the next wall can come up.

16:07So piggybacking off of that, if I can. So that was May 2010 to May 2011. Lost my first 150 pounds. I was feeling great. I was like, man, life is good. You know what I mean? I got some swagger. Feeling good. Yeah. The girls are starting to talk to me a little more. You know what I mean? I got a balance on my stuff. The swag is kicking. So I was feeling great. I was like, man, like coming from where I came from, I felt awesome. But, you know, like I always say in life, you take one step forward, take two steps backwards. So two months later, July 2011, we go to a family wedding in Connecticut. It was my cousin.

16:43So my dad's brother's son. my dad's health actually was getting worse, even though mine was, you know, quote unquote, the stock was rising on my health. And the night of the reception in the bed, my father's liver ended up blowing out. He ended up dying in my hands that night. Wow. Yeah. So I was like, okay, this isn't fun. And that was in Connecticut. And to make matters worse, that happens. And then the very next day, we have to do the funeral in Baltimore. True story, by the way. We go do the funeral in Baltimore the very next day. I bend over to pick up his casket. I stand back up. I hear a little pop in my back.

17:23What is it? I blow out my L3, L4 herniated disc at my father's funeral, and I'm having shooting pain down my leg, down to my toes. I can't tell a soul because I have to say goodbye to my father who just died in my hands the night before. Wow. So you want to talk about walls, man. They come. They come ferocious and they come like, no, tomorrow. I know I've been through it, man. So your dad, who's your hero, right? Passes away in your arms, in your hands. Not to go to that moment, but really the question, the scenario was around, how did that make you a better man knowing that the past was literally torched that night from from dad to you yeah like man talk us through like how that made you a better man yeah no i appreciate that thank you i think it just comes down to that's where you really are tested i feel like when a man or a woman is in those type of moments when you're at the lowest of lows put it this way I tell people this in boxing the referee gives you 10 seconds to get up off the mat you have 10 seconds right and you are taking the beating of your entire life and you have 10 seconds but the beauty of it is and I'm going to go even specifically to Iraqi too it's you know to be heavyweight champion in your story in your world you don't have to get up at one but you can get up at nine and still be heavyweight champion of the world.

19:04Rocky Balboa got up at nine. He beat Apollo Creed by one second, one second. And he became heavyweight champion of the world. So I guess to answer your question more directly, it's life gave me the beating of my life. That was me on the floor. I lost my father. I did this for him. Like, you know, he, he was my hero. And I, in that moment, I was like, man, like, where do we go from here? But in that moment I knew, and a part of him felt like he knew like, man, like there's more to my son. I know he's built for greatness. I know he has it in him. And I think, and I'll tell you in a more deeper level, I think he in some way passed away and I don't know this for sure, but I think he might've felt like, look, you know, I think me passing away might take my son's life to a different level, to a different trajectory of what he needs to become because that fire that I still have, it burns even that much deeper, you know?

20:07And I don't know if it would have been the same if he was here or not. And of course, do I want him here? Yes. Do I miss him every day? Do I think about him every day? I do this for him every day and my wife and my son, but a part of me always goes back to think, you know, maybe he just felt like, you know what, if this is the one way for my son to carry the torch and go all the way, basically I have to sacrifice my life to keep my son alive. And I truly feel like that's the warrior spirit that he left me. My dad was a grinder, man. He worked 14 hours a day almost every other day. And even on his off days, he was a pharmacist.

20:44So he would pick up shifts too. And then on the days off, housework, yard work, work. You're probably the hardest worker that I know. So exactly. You know the feeling, right? So I think that's where the legacy really, I think, stemmed from, like, the passing of the torch, per se, if that makes sense. Yeah. And so now, you know, businessman, speaker, and we're going to get into that in a moment, too. What's your because? Why do you do the things that you do? Why do you give back? Why do you inspire? Right? Like, I don't, like, motivate anymore. I like inspire because you are an inspiration. I appreciate it.

21:27Thank you so much. Why do you continue to do that? Why are you going on stages helping people do this? Why are people reaching out to you as a coach to help them? And you say yes. What's your because? Right. No, I appreciate that because I know what it's like to be in that moment. And I think to answer your question to the best possible way, I know though I was on the other side of that wall. The old Raheel didn't have the Raheel right now. And the old Raheel needed the guy that I am now. So it doesn't matter what part of life that you're in. And again, it doesn't have to just be weight loss. Any part of your life, whether it's resilience or you're going through any part of just mental health issues or depression or something that's bringing you down and there's a wall you got to go break.

22:14I know the feeling, man. I know what it's like to be on the canvas, on the floor. And you have no reason to get up, man. But if you hear it in my voice, I'm getting goosebumps here. I got goosebumps here. You can get back up. And I want to have people believe, like, you can do it, man. You can get back up. I lost my dad in my hands. I mean, I've been through so much in my life. I lost my father in my hands. I had to get, I blew out my herniated disc. Nine years later, I blew out my second herniated disc. I gained over 75, 80 pounds of that, 150 pounds that I lost back. And then I had to rip all that weight off.

22:50You know, my wife and I were struggling to have a child because the doctor told us that, hey, Raheel, because of your extreme weight loss conditions, your sperm count is a little out of whack. Your sperm motility is really low. We have to go through in vitro fertilization. I had to see my wife go through injections and, you know, we had to pay financially so much for medication. And I had to see the bruises all over her body. And I told her, like, man, you're putting yourself through everything. And she was like, look, no matter what, I'm having this baby and we're going to find a way to do it together.

23:20We're in this together. She had our son, the most beautiful day of my entire life, 11-11. And that helped inspire me. And now that he is here, I have to be the best version for him. So I try to let him know, like, you know, daddy wasn't the daddy that you see now. But, you know, I want you to understand I'm going to do whatever I can to help you learn from my mistakes to be the best version of you. because my father taught me that. I mean, life has given me the absolute beating. And I know for the viewers out there, I know that you're taking a beating too. And it's okay because the beauty of the beating, the beauty of the fall is you can get up.

23:56You can come back from it, man. It doesn't matter what you go through. I think rock bottom is the most beautiful place that you can be because look, there's nowhere to go but up. There it is. And so I want to take a moment and talk to specifically the person that's watching this listening, that needs that breakthrough, that person, that wall is there and they don't have the energy, they don't know if they can muster the effort to even touch the wall, not even begin the breakthrough portion. Can you inspire that person right now to what you said, get up? Yeah, for sure. No, definitely. A hundred percent.

24:38Listen, you can do it. I think the best advice I can truly give you out there. It's the first step. Just admit that you have a problem. Admit that you have a wall that you have to break. Just admit it. It's okay. And there's nothing to be ashamed about. Quoting the great David Goggins, what does he always say? Never be ashamed of anything in your life. Face it, fix it, make it better. If you were at rock bottom, this is the best time. It is the most beautiful time. And just like that trainer told me, I didn't want to tell that story. At that time, I hated that part. I didn't believe her, but I love telling this part.

25:15It's all about the comeback. Can you come back from it? And ask for help. I think that's the best piece I can leave behind. It's ask for help. It's okay to reach out to people. I went to a local gym and I talked to people and obviously I took to my team weight loss class and that catapulted me. But every wall in your life, any wall in your life can be broken. Look, I was a guy that was supposed to be dead by 40. And I'm here on Mick Unplugged, one of the most famous podcasts in the world, in the greatest shape of my life. And I did get married and I did have a son and I am in the greatest shape of my life.

25:50And I am looking up to a big brother right here, right in front of my eyes. And any wall in your life is truly meant to be broken, man. It truly is. You can get off of the mat. You can be heavyweight champion of the world. If you don't hear it in my voice, I really hope that you do because I believe it wholeheartedly. admit you have a problem, ask for help and keep focusing. And the very last piece, just don't worry about results. Keep focusing on the work. The results will come in any element in your life, relationships, weight loss, mental health, finance, business. It doesn't matter. Just focus on the work.

26:29The results will come. We live in a society today where everybody wants results right away. I want to lose 10 pounds tomorrow. I want to be a millionaire in two days. I want to own my business in three days. I want to own an island in five days. Of course, we all want those things, but you have to be able to put in the work. And yeah. And to kind of wrap up my last spiel, I have to quote the late, great Kobe Bryant. I always teach my son this too. As hard as you think you can work, you can work that much harder. That's it. I love that, man. I love that. Which now segues to me wanting to talk to you about getting on TEDx stages.